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Category: Dollywood

On top of Dolly Parton’s pledge to donate $1,000 a month to families who lost their homes in a destructive wildfire near the Great Smoky Mountains last week, the country singer is now hosting a telethon.

The event is set for Dec. 13 in Nashville, Dollywood spokesman Pete Owns confirmed to Mashable.

The additional fundraiser comes less than a week after Parton announced in a video that her Dollywood Foundation had set up the My People Fund, which will provide $1,000 each month for up to six months to families who lost their homes in the wildfires. Read more…

The beloved singer announced Wednesday that her companies would donate $1,000 a month to “all of those families who lost their homes” in the devastating Tennessee wildfire that has killed at least 7 people.

According to local officials, the fire has destroyed at least 400 structures in and around Gatlinburg, Tennessee, since Monday. Guests of the nearby Dollywood theme park were forced to evacuate the premises. Read more…

Dolly Parton’s famous Dollywood theme park near the Great Smoky Mountains in eastern Tennessee was closed Tuesday as a wildfire ravaged the area and made its way seriously close to the park’s border.

The legendary attraction, a Parton-themed collection of roller coasters, water rides and other attractions along with a resort and mountain cabins, was expected to remain shuttered through Wednesday, park spokesman Pete Owens told Mashable.

Dolly said she was “heartbroken” by the fire, which seems to have spared her domain for now — although it did reportedly reach “right on the doorstep.”

Strong winds fanned flames from a large wildfire in eastern Tennessee on Monday, damaging a large number of structures in picturesque Gatlinburg, and prompting widespread evacuations.

The Chimney Top Fire is part of a broader outbreak of blazes burning across the Southeast amid unusually mild and dry conditions during what will be one of the top 5 warmest years in U.S. history, and the hottest year globally.

The high winds that hit on Monday, and are continuing in some areas on Tuesday, dramatically escalated the risk of unpredictable and extreme fire behavior. The fire’s advance on Gatlinburg and other areas caught thousands off-guard, according to the National Park Service. Read more…